Financial Times

The masks of AmbalangodaBy Lenin Amarawickrama
Ariyapala Masks is the most prominent mask retail shop and factory in the Ambalangoda area. This shop was begun by Ariyapala, who initially produced traditional southern masks with his own hands and tools and sold them to the performers of traditional dancing troupes who were part and parcel of southern culture.

Initially, Ariyapala produced one or two masks per week and was assisted by his wife and children. The basic raw material was "Kaduru" wood which was found abundantly in the woods of Ambalangoda. At first the masks were painted using colours prepared from wood gums.

They were very colourful as they were used by performers. The metal chisel and the wooden hammer were the primary tools of Ariyapala who also made use of a hand made wooden lathe to fine-tune his craftsmanship.

After the demise of Ariyapala, his son Badrananda Wijesuriya took over the reins of this inherited business. "My father sold his products to local artists for a nominal fee but did not run it as a business to earn money. For him it was a kind of service to the dancing community," recalled Wijesuriya. "We had foreigners visiting us those days and buying my father's products, but we did not call them tourists," he added. "The first group of tourists came to our workshop in 1959 from Germany. That was our first formal contact with them and we began to think in terms of widening our sales."

Wijesuriya and the other workers who were taught the traditional craftsmanship by Ariyapala still carry on his business, even though they have now modernized some of the tools.

The wooden lathe gave way to a metal one and imported lacquer replaced wood gum colours. But the masks are still hand painted according to traditional methods. With a relatively large factory and the retail shop, Wijesuriya is not driven by the need to serve the demands of tourists. "Even nearly after 80 years of existence, today we only produce 150 masks per month and that is also only for the local tourist market," he said. He has no intention of expanding his business to the export market.

Asked why, he said: "Our craftsmanship should be limited to the family and relatives but we have no hesitation in teaching it to people who value the tradition." He employs about 15 workers at his factory and has sub contracted the rest of the production to his relatives and friends who are also in the trade, depending on the demand.

Among the obstacles they face are the problems of skills development in the industry and the difficulties of obtaining Kaduru wood. Owing to this reason, Ariyapala Masks now produces the ears of the masks using wood from the mango tree.

Wijesuriya does not see plastic as an alternative since it involves high technology and will make redundant the hand craftsmanship that gives the masks their value.

During the tourist seasons, his friends in foreign countries visit Wijesuriya, giving him more business and bringing more contacts for retail purchases. Though he has raised his prices to meet these ever-increasing demands, mask production is still limited as Wijesuriya believes in maintaining the traditions of the craft.

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